Grant hopes to measure, help reduce Denver air pollution

DENVER – The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment has received a grant for $100,000 to help measure air quality at public schools.

“As a city, we`re looking to…address the kids…that`s the next generation,” said Michael Ogletree, who’s with the department.

Right now, those children and their families spend more than $30 million dollars to treat asthma.

Some of that is caused from pollution.

In Denver, that pollution comes from a variety of sources, including vehicle emissions from a growing population and parents who idle in cars while waiting to pick children up from school. All of it is made worse by the inversion.

The city hopes to track pollution at schools with new particulate matter sensors.